Norfork Lake Conditions by Lou of Hummingbird Hideaway Resort 870-492-5113

Facing north just west of the 101 bridge at 6AM

Facing west looking into Five Fingers Cove at around 7AM

Facing South looking into Diamond Bay at around 8AM

Facing northwest on south side of Robinson campground 9 AM

Hi All, I guess you have heard and seen photos of the high water on Norfork Lake. Due to the questions and concerns about Norfork Lake I have decided to give you all a little detail about the lake's current condition. To start off Norfork Lake and Hummingbird Hideaway Resort are open for operations and running as smoothly as possible. Yes, the flood that started on Saturday April 29, 2017 increased the lake level up to the top of the flood pool of 580 feet above sea level. It has since been lowered 3 feet. It was amazing that prior to 5PM on the 29th we virtually had no rain, but north of us had been getting dumped on starting early on Friday, April 28th. The lake was rising maybe an inch an hour, but at 5PM Saturday, April 29 I noticed a 12 inch rise in the lake level. I thought this had to be incorrect information on the Corps. of Engineers lake level report, but it was correct. All though the night the lake continued to rise a foot an hour and I had a lot of fun keeping up with the dock. But I did, with help from several of my guests, and was able to keep the dock accessible for our guests. This sudden and tremendous inflow of water into the lake brought along lots and lots of debris. Each day you see less and less floating debris, but there are tremendous amounts of dead wood laying along the shoreline and back in some of the small coves. As long as the lake continues to drop, this debris on the shore will stay put and not create a problem. I was really getting depressed with the brown looking water, but several things have changed my outlook. I finally got my boat back from the shop and was able to see that the lake is starting to clear. I headed out this morning at 6AM to start breaking in the second new power head on my 2 year old motor (??) I spent 4 hours on the lake. Three of those hours looking

around and only one hour of fishing. By the way, I did catch 4 nice largemouth up in the flooded trees. Here is what I saw this morning. The lake is still brown from Mallard point to just past Robinson campground. As you head south you can definitely tell the brown water is starting to fall out. By the time I reached Duck Blind Point (past Robinson) the water was stained to slightly off color, by Diamond Bay it was just stained. The back of Diamond Bay was much browner than the main lake. I did catch some nice bass back in Diamond. The floating debris that I found today was mostly small, but there are still some big trees floating. Most of the debris that I found was close to the 101 bridge on the west side, some in between the 2 bridges and also in front of and slightly south of Robinson Campground. After that it was mostly smooth sailing. The debris keeps moving as the wind changes so always be very vigilant when  out on the lake. After Diamond Bay I headed back into Fall Creek. The farther back I went the clearer it got. Back by Buzzard Roost Marina the water clarity was its normal clear with just a slight green stain. (I also caught a nice largemouth in Fall.) I then headed back into Panther Creek and it was slightly brown, but could tell it was trying to drop out and clear. I headed back home and the debris on the west side of the 101 bridge had moved from the south side of the lake to the north side.  I came up the south shoreline without difficulty. Of course when out on the lake, I would suggest you not go full speed at this time until all of the debris disappears off of the lake. I have heard the Cranfield area is still brown with floating debris as is the Fouts area. I am sure these two areas will be clearing of both the mud and the debris shortly. The other major area of the lake east of the dam has very clear water.  Point 1 back though Big and Brushy Creeks did not have the tremendous inflow of water so the mud did not affect this area. How long it will take the lake to get back to normal will depend on the weather. The water will remain high until the rivers start to recede back into their banks as Norfork Lake is a flood control lake. The launch ramps are open, but some of the floating debris is making them difficult to use. I launched my boat yesterday at the Henderson deep water ramp. I had to clear out some of the debris by hand then just used my trolling motor and a long pole to move the debris out of the way. Once though I trimmed my motor back down and headed to our dock. The below photos are of our dock and resort area. Both easily accessible and ready for your use. I will try and keep you updated of any significant changes to Norfork Lake.


If you have any questions don't hesitate to call us at 870-492-5113. Hummingbird Hideaway Resort


I will be doing an updated fishing report in a few days, but the fish are biting and our guests are catching fish.





Hummingbird Hideaway's Dock, 5/3/17, after the increased lake level



Hummingbird Hideaway's Resort pool (which is open)